November 5 (89)

”Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin

I was one of those fortunate kids in my early school years who didn’t have to try super hard to have god grades. Paying attention in class and doing my homework was usually sufficient to do well. Most times I wouldn’t even need to study for exams, which usually annoyed my friends. Problem was, I didn’t really develop good study habits which became painfully obvious in my post-secondary studies. It was then that I envied the people who had had to struggle through their early school years as they were much better prepared to handle university than I was. This is a good parallel with my emotional growth. Because I buried my emotions for years from my early teens onward, I also didn’t learn the best ways of dealing with them. It’s not as fun trying to go through some of these lessons later in life, when I am supposed to be more mature and capable. I know well enough that I learn better when I am involved and I hope, at least, to be able to use this knowledge to better guide my children. I need to make those extra efforts to help true learning take place and hopefully give them a better start in life.

Affirmation The struggles of my youth often set the stage for my adult years and the lessons I missed are harder, but not impossible, to learn when I am older.